Chapter 21: Is it birthday time? Again?
Title: Reunion time.
Author: Nikka
Author notes: Hi everyone, If you need to know about summary, rate and all the rest it's all in chapter 1 I'll just remind you that English is not my native tongue so you may find some spelling & grammar mistakes, you're more then welcome to let me know about them but remember you may find them while you read the story. Have fun.
Disclaimer: Angel & Buffy's characters are not my creation (wish they were) they belong to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Other characters that are not familiar from the show do belong to me.
Author's remark: My chapters as of ch 12 will no longer be reproof by Sigma due to the fact that I have no internet and I'm asking someone else to post the remaining chapters for me. I want to take this opportunity and thank sigma for all the help. And I hope you will continue reading my story even without the excellent work sigma has done. Thank you again sigma for all your great work.
Buffy rushed over. "What happened to her?" she asked but no one seemed to have an answer.
"No!" Angel yelled holding Cordelia and shaking her back and forth. "Wake up Cordy you're not doing this to me again, not now, you hear me!" He yelled at her. Cordelia wasn't moving; she lay there in his arms. She seemed peaceful almost asleep.
"Angel maybe if I can…" Buffy came close and tried to touch Cordelia but Angel held her even closer and gave Buffy a look that made her take a step back.
"No one touches her!" he said firmly. "Let's just give her a moment, she'll wake up." He said still holding her close mumbling her name hoping she'll answer him.
"Angel." Wesley tried to reason with him. "Last time this happened she was out for more then 24 hours."
"Your point?" Angel asked impatiently.
"That maybe we should put her some place comfortable and look for answers." Wesley suggested hoping Angel will agree with him.
"No!" angel answered.
"Angel think of Cordy, she needs us to help her, not cry over her like she's…" Gunn stopped himself. "I know she's fine, she's part demon that means she's strong so we just have to wait and she'll come out of it." Angel didn't budge.
"She's what?" Buffy said looking at Giles who looked as puzzled as she was. No one paid any attention to her question.
"Helppppppp." Cordelia screamed. Her eyes were still closed.
"Cordy! Cordelia." Angel called her name and shook her but she didn't answer him.
"I'm scared, help me. I can't see them. I can't feel them. Help me." She said and grabbed Angel's shirt hanging on to it.
"Cordy tell me what happened you, who's after you? Tell me!" Angel pleaded her but she didn't answer him.
Suddenly opened her eyes they were milky white. "They're coming. She said. Her tune changed from fear to strength.
"Who's coming?" Angel asked but she didn't answer him.
"He's coming." She said then closed her eyes and fell back into Angel's arms.
"Cordy please talk to me, tell me what's happing." But she didn't answer him.
Suddenly they heard a baby crying. It was Conor. "Lorne maybe you should take him back to the house." Fred suggested.
"No we may need him." Gunn said.
"Well someone needs to take him cause Angel is not really up to it." She said quietly to Gunn.
Apparently it wasn't quiet enough cause Anya heard them. "I'll take him. We can close the shop early today." Both Buffy and Giles stared at her not believing Anya suggested to close early and lose all that potential money.
"No, we'll all go back to the house." Angel said all of the sudden. "She's not comfortable like this." He said.
"I'll get the car." Gunn said as he ran out the door followed by Fred.
"We'll take all the relevant books." Wesley said and both he and Giles started to grab the books.
"Here Angel, you'll need this." Buffy said as she gave Angel the blanket.
Angel looked out it was still day time out side.
"Thanks." He said as he covered both him and Cordelia with the blanket.
"You're welcome." Buffy said and made sure he was all covered up.
They heard the horn. "Let's go." Angel said as he ran out to car holding Cordy in his arms.
Buffy quickly opened the door and a few seconds later he ran in holding her in his arms covered with the blanket.
"Here, you can put her down here." Buffy said and pointed to the couch.
Angel put her softly on the couch and covered her with the blanket and set besides her not leaving her alone for a moment.
Lorne went up stairs to put Conor to sleep and Fred and Gunn went to the kitchen with Buffy to fix some kind of lunch, While Giles and Wesley looked at the books trying to find an answer.
Back in the kitchen Buffy was curious about some of the things Angel said earlier. "What did Angel mean when he said 'again'? Has it happened before?" Buffy asked Fred and Gunn.
"Yeah it did." Gunn answered.
"What happened?" Buffy kept asking.
"Look we better finish these sandwiches and go see if they need our help." Gunn said impatiently and Buffy got the message not to press on.
"I didn't mean to pry, it's just that the more we'll know about what happened to her the easier it will be to help her." Buffy explained her questioning.
"Look I'm sure Wesley already told your watcher boy everything and he'll probably fill you in on the details." Gunn said no reluctant to talk about the subject.
Buffy looked at her watch and Knew that Dawn and Xander will be back soon and not long after that Willow and Tara. Before she had time to say anything the door opened and she heard Xander's voice yelling out loud, "Look whom I found on my way picking Dawnie." Then she heard Willow's voice then she could hear their reaction to the unconsciousness Cordelia lying on the couch. Right about then Buffy, Fred and Gunn came out from the kitchen holding a plate with sandwiches on it.
"Buffy what happened here?" Xander, Willow and Dawn asked. Buffy took them aside and quickly and quietly filled them in.
"Well he's asleep and I brought the monitor with me." Said Lorne as he came into the living room.
Angel looked around and saw the room was full. On one side he saw Giles, Wesley and Fred who joined them with the books. On the other side he saw Buffy with Xander, Anya, Willow and Dawn and in front of him he saw Lorne with Gunn talking. He looked and Cordy and knew he had to take charge of things.
"Wes." He turned to Wesley. "Can you please fill in the blanks for the Rest." Meaning the Sunnydale people.
Without argue Wesley got up and asked everyone to come closer and started to explain. He told about Cordy's birthday about how she lost her consciousness. He told them about the deal she made with the PTB's (Little remark: I decided for story purpose that Cordy told them everything she went through while she was unconsciousness, including the part of her being a TV star and Angel going crazy).
"So if she made the deal why is she here with you?" Dawn asked confused.
"Because she broke the deal, she took the visions back." Wesley explained.
"Back from who?" Willow asked.
"Back from Angel." This time Fred answered. "And before you ask why." Fred said quickly before Xander had a chance to ask. "She did it because the visions made Angel crazy, not evil crazy just crazy." She looked at Angel who smiled at her letting her know it's all right.
"So what happened then"? Buffy who liked this story less and less by the minute asked.
"In order for her to keep the visions she became part demon."
"She what?!" Xander cried out in disbelieve.
Wesley decided to ignore him and continued. "So that's the entire story."
"So the bottom line is that Cordelia scarified her humanity, at least part of it for Angel, to save Angel." Buffy summed it up.
"In short." Gunn said.
"That's why she could read you and that demon guy." Anya said to Buffy.
The Brolug." Willow corrected her.
"Yeah what ever." Anya brushed it off.
"That's right." Wesley said.
"So, is she still… you know." Xander tried to find the words not to sound like a complete idiot.
"She's normal just like you and me." Gunn said protectively.
"Except the visions of course." Fred continued.
Okay so we know what happened what's next? How can we help? Buffy asked.
"Well, except for research there's not much else to do." Fred said in a despaired tone.
"Has this happened before? I mean since her birthday?" Willow inquired.
"No, it's a first." Gunn said.
Suddenly Angel called out to Wesley. Everyone stopped talking and Wesley turned to see what he wanted.
"Can Lorne help?" Angel asked.
"Why Lorne?" Willow asked Quietly.
"Lorne has the power to read the mind of someone when he sings." Fred explained.
"So they're going to make Cordelia sing?" Xander asked confused.
"No!" Gunn said annoyed. "Sometimes he can tap into someone's mind when his unconsciousness, like Cordy is."
"I don't know Angel, but we can try if Lorne is up to it." Wesley answered him while Fred and Gunn explained to the Scoobies about Lorne's abilities.
"Lorne?" Angel turned to him.
"I don't know big guy last time I tired it…" Lorne looked scared.
"Lorne?" Angel said again and gave him a firm and a bit frightening stare."
"Okay I'll try." Lorne said and came close to Cordy. Angel got up and allowed Lorne to sit next to her.
Lorne reached his hands and touched Cordelia's temples. "Here goes nothing." He said trying to cover the fear of what he might see or feel.
He closed his eyes and concentrated as everyone came close trying to see what's going on. Angel stood just next to him keeping an eye on Cordy. Suddenly Lorne's expression changed. It wasn't peaceful any more but frightened really frightened.
"Haaaa." Lorne screamed as he felt a wave coming at him and he was thrown across the room and on to the wall. He fell to the floor. He was consciousness but barely.
"Lorne." Fred ran to him.
Angel and Gunn joined her and helped Lorne to the sofa.
"What did you see?" Angel asked impatiently.
"Angel wait give him a second." Fred snapped at him.
He looked at Lorne and saw how shook up he was from the experience.
"I'm sorry Lorne are you all right?" Angel asked.
"Sure champ. But let's not do this again." Lorne said with a half smile.
"What did you see?" Angel couldn't help himself, he ignored Fred's stare.
"I didn't see anything, it's what I felt that scared me." Lorne explained.
"Okay then what did you feel?" Angel asked.
"Cordy is in some kind of trance but a good one." Lorne said.
" A good one?" Wesley wondered.
"Yeah, our little princess is having a vision."
"What?" The AI team said simultaneously.
"It's time, they're coming." It was Cordy. Everyone turned and saw she was standing.
Angel rushed over to her and stood in front of her. Her eyes were milky white and she didn't seem to notice he was there.
"Beware, be prepared. They're coming." Cordy kept saying not making much sense.
"Cor?" Angel looked in her eyes and whispered softly. Suddenly she looked at him.
"Angel?" She said quietly and fell into his arms. She didn't faint. She was awake but weak.
Angel put her down on the couch while Dawn went to bring her some water.
Cordelia slowly opened her eyes. She saw figures hovering around her but couldn't tell who they were. Her eyesight was blurry.
"Cor? Can you hear me?" She heard a soft voice, a familiar voice. She knew who it was.
"Yes Angel." she said as her vision became clearer. Now she recognized all the rest of the blurry figures. She saw Fred and Gunn smiling at her. And she saw the Scoobies on the side trying to stay away.
"Cor? Are you…?"
"I'm fine Angel." Now her eyes were open and she was alert. "I need to seat up." She said and Angel helped her up so she can seat on the sofa her legs were still up.
"Is Lorne all right?" Cordy asked concerned.
"You know what happened to him?" Wesley asked curiously.
"Not exactly, but I felt him trying to tap into my mind. Into my vision." Cordy explained.
"So it was a vision?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, it was defiantly a vision." Cordelia took a sip of water.
"I'm okay princess." She heard Lorne's voice behind her. She turned and saw him seating on the sofa. He almost looked as bad as she felt.
"I'm sorry Lorne, I didn't mean to." Cordy apologized.
"No need for that." He smiled at her making her feel a bit better about what happened to him.
"Can you tell us what you saw? … I mean are you?" Buffy hesitated she didn't want to make Angel mad. She knew he was very protective of her.
"I don't know what I can tell you. It was wired." Cordelia said. She seemed confused like she wasn't sure of what happened to her or what she saw.
"Wired how?" Wesley asked.
"I didn't just feel the vision. I actually lived it." She stopped and took another sip of water.
"Cor if you want we can do this later." Angel said worriedly when he saw how weak she was.
"No. I need to do it now, when it's still fresh in my memory."
"Okay." He didn't want to argue with her, not now.
"It was like I was someone else. I knew all those things and I had an ordinary life. I knew people's names and I knew who my friends were, but I was still me. Does it make any sense to you?" She was hopping someone would tell her she wasn't going crazy.
"Yes it does." Giles came to the rescue. "There have been documentations before about people who have been possessed by a spirit. They also did things and said things they wouldn't normally say. Still they remained themselves and remembered everything afterwards." Giles looked at Buffy and Angel, so did the rest of the Scoobies.
Cordelia knew what he meant. She remembered Buffy and Angel's little rendezvous with the spirits a few years ago. And she also remembered her and Angel's possession a few weeks ago.
"So you're saying I relived the life of some dead woman?" Cordelia asked confused.
"Not necessarily." Wesley explained. "This woman may still be alive. You lived through a period of time in her life because something happened to her then, something that might happen to us very soon."
"How can you be sure?" Gunn asked.
"Because of what Cordelia said."
"And what did I say exactly?" Cordy asked confused.
"You don't remember?' Angel asked surprised.
"It's not that I don't remember it's just that it's hard to remember. From time to time an image pops into my mind and I remember another piece of the puzzle. I don't know why I can't remember the whole vision."
"Maybe because it was so long." Everyone turned to Dawn who stayed out of the way till now. "What?!" she snapped. "All I meant was that maybe it's like a dream you don't always remember all of it."
"I think you're right Dawnie." Cordy said to her with a smile, which made Dawn smile she felt proud and important.
"As for the vision." Wesley tried to return to the matter at hand. "I think that what ever Cordelia saw in her vision. What ever that woman saw is coming here. If not why else would the powers send her this vision?" Everyone knew Wesley was right but no one was ready to admit it yet.
"Look I suggest we let Cordy rest and maybe after a good rest she'll remember some more." Angel suggested.
"I don't think it's the best idea. What ever is coming we need to be prepared." Wesley said.
"I know Wes and we will be, but she doesn't remember. Pushing her won't do us any good." Angel explained.
"I think Angel is right." Buffy backed him up. "We all need some rest and food."
"I second that." Gunn jumped in.
"And some of us have some Homework to do." Buffy looked at Dawn, who didn't seemed pleased by that last remark. "It's 16:00 now. How about we all take a break for a couple of hours. After that we can meet at the magic shop and get straight to work."
Although Giles and Wesley didn't really like the idea of leaving this thing for later they knew they were out numbered so they agreed to the compromise.
"Okay then. We'll meet at the shop around 18:00." Buffy said.
Not soon after that people started to leave. Anya returned to the shop with Giles and Wesley. She figured why miss two hours of making money.
Fred, Gunn and Xander went out for lunch and Willow had a class. Dawn was sent to her room to do her homework while Buffy was cleaning up.
Angel helped Cordy up to the bedroom. She lay in bed as he closed the curtains. He checked on Conor who was fast asleep in his crib. Then he went to lay next to Cordy.
They didn't talk. They didn't need to. They already forgave each other. All they needed now was each other. Cordy laid her head on Angel chest as he put his arm around her. He was at peace. He didn't care what was coming as long as he had her, as long as she was safe.
Hi ppl,I read all you reviews and I'll try to put more B/S soon. But just to remind you, I did put a major B/S moment a few chapters ago so be patience.
Hi if you think this story should have ended by now let me know. I promise I can end it without leaving any loose ends.
But if you still want more let me know and I'll develop it further. So it's all up to your next reviews so let me know what you prefer.
As usual thank you for your patience and great reviews. Keep reviewing. Nikka.